Your Freedom, His Life Without Complaint
by liron-aria
Summary: The relationship between Sam Winchester and Cole Trenton, as told through their conversations. 10.03 Soul Survivor mild AU


A/N: I am entirely unsure how this happened. The title's taken from a common Marine saying, as Cole is a Marine in this fic. And because of Sam's self-sacrificial nature.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. If I did, Sam would get a ton more screen time, meaningful relationships with other characters, and Jess. Jess would come back.

But that is neither here nor there, so please, sit back and enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Jesus fuck."<p>

"Okay, I probably deserve that."

"Look, man, if you're looking for another fight with Dean or whatever, it's going to have to wait."

"… Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Me. Why?"

"What you said about monsters… I want to know more."

"And you decided to come to me? You want to _kill my brother_, why the Hell would I help you?"

"Your brother's a fucking _demon!_ A _monster!_ You said it yourself -"

"To keep you away from him! Look, I don't have time for this."

"I'm not leaving until you agree to help me."

"Get out of my way."

"You want a repeat performance of last night?"

"Heh. You're in worse shape than I am. Just do yourself a favour and get out of here and go to a hospital. This isn't your fight."

"The Hell it _ain't!_ Do you know what it's like to wake up in a cold sweat every night after seeing your Dad dead on the floor? After remembering what it felt like to _slip in his blood_? To see his _killer _stand over you with a bloody knife?"

"… Friggin' - just don't touch anything, and stay where I tell you to."

* * *

><p>"Demons can be cured? Seriously?"<p>

"Cured, killed, exorcised."

"What, like _The Exorcist?_"

"Not exactly. Pass me _Theories_ - the red one. Here. Second and fourth chapters."

"So why can't you just exorcise your brother?"

"He's… not really your regular demon. Normal demons invade other humans and take hosts. Dean is… It's still his soul inside his body."

"So he's a monster all on his ownsome."

"It's not like that."

"Seems like that to me."

"It's a long story."

"I ain't going anywhere."

"… Fine. Read this. It's called the Mark of Cain."

"Like Cain and Abel?"

"Yeah. Also a long story. It… changed him, into something he's not."

"Doesn't seem all that different from the guy who murdered my Dad."

"You don't know it was Dean. Could have been whatever monster Dean was hunting, your Dad could have been a victim."

"I heard them struggling. And there were no other bodies in the house."

"… I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>"You look like someone killed your puppy in front of you."<p>

"Thanks."

"The curing not go well?"

"It went fine."

"I'm sure."

"Whatever. You want me to get you some ice or bandages for your… everything?"

"… I beat the shit out of you and you're offering _me_ bandages."

"I'll take that as a no."

"No! No, uh… Thanks. I could use some ice. And Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"… What?"

"For the whole… interrogation thing. I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry."

"… Uh. No problem. I've had worse, anyway. I'll go get that ice."

* * *

><p>"Army?"<p>

"Marines."

"Figures. Dad was a Marine."

"Yeah? He a… hunter, too?"

"Raised us in the life. Demon killed my Mom, and Dad spent the rest of his life hunting it down."

"He catch it?"

"Heh. Something like that. They're both dead now, anyway."

"Bad enough I lost my Dad, I can't imagine what it would do to me and Danny if we lost Marlene."

"… You have a _family?!"_

"Yeah… What's it to you?"

"You have a - _Jesus_, what the Hell are you doing?!"

"The Hell are you talking about?"

"You have a _wife_ and _child_, and you're _here,_ hunting down a man who could _kill you in the blink of an eye?!_ What would they have done if Dean had just decided to gank your ass and have done with it, hunh?"

"That's none of your-"

"What the Hell do you even plan on doing? Follow Dean around the country, trying to kill him? Hunt down other demons and monsters? What is the _point_ of learning all this when you have a perfectly good family at home?!"

"You can't expect me to just _sit back_ now that I know this! Your Dad raised you -"

"_My childhood sucked! _Hunters are drifters, we don't _get_ families - you're in or you're out, and had better be prepared for what this is going to do to them!"

"You've got _no right_ to talk about my family, when _yours _destroyed _mine!_"

"Get out."

"What?"

"Get the Hell out. I'm not going to be the one responsible for destroying your family."

* * *

><p>"Jesus - how the hell did you get back in?!"<p>

"Look, I, um, I wanted to apologise. Again."

"… What?"

"Man, you really need to learn to take an apology with good grace. Anyway, I'm shipping out to Afghanistan in three months, and that's going to be hard enough on them. At the end of it all, I don't really have _time_ to be a hunter. But knowing what I know - monsters, vampires, werewolves, demons - I can't leave my family unprotected."

"So, what, you're going move them every time something dangerous comes along? Hide them to keep them safe?"

"What? Hell no. My wife knows how to use a gun, Danny knows not to talk to strangers, and there's a police officer and an NCIS Agent living on our street. They're as safe as I can make them. But this… Please. I can't just turn a blind eye to this."

"… Alright, fine. I'll teach you how to protect yourself and your family. But I ever hear you became a hunter, I'll kick your ass to kingdom come."

"Sure, Gimpy."

* * *

><p>"Sam? Jesus, what did he <em>do<em> to you?"

"Dean didn't do anything."

"Yeah, that's why you look like my neighbour before we got her abusive boyfriend arr - holy _shit_, that's what this is, isn't it?!"

"What the _Hell_, Cole?!"

"So, in addition to being a murderer, your brother's also an abusive douchebag. Colour me surprised."

"Oh my God - _my brother is not abusing me!"_

"Do you hear yourself when you talk, or is there just a roaring noise between your ears?'

"Go to Hell."

* * *

><p>"You got anything to eat around this place?"<p>

"Uh, check the kitchen - down that way."

"Want me to grab you something?"

"Nah, I'd just vomit it up anyway."

"… Jesus Christ, Winchester."

* * *

><p>"You really need sleep, man."<p>

"What I _need_ is for my brother to be human again so I can kick his ass for being such a moron."

"When was the last time you actually slept?"

"… Uh. How long was I in your car?"

"You've gotta be kidding me - that was for, like, half an hour!"

"Yeah, well, I've been busy."

"The injections have to only be done once an hour, right? Go take a nap, let me take care of the rest. I won't kill him - Scout's honour."

"You'll understand why I'm a little reluctant to trust that."

"On my honour as a Marine, then. Seriously, you look like death warmed over. Except more dead."

"If I sleep now, I don't know if I'll get back up. And besides - no offence, but it's a lot harder for him to get under my skin than yours. Also you're using the wrong rune on your diagram."

"What - son of a bitch."

* * *

><p>"Cole?! Cole! Jesus, what did he - hey! Cole, stay with me!"<p>

"… De…an's lose…"

"Yeah. Yeah, I saw. Shit, we need to get you up -"

_"Sammy!"_

"No - no, you need to go - 'm not imp'rtant ri' now -"

"Yeah, yeah, stop talking and try not to bleed out on me."

"_Sam._ Go. Mission comes first."

"… Fucking Marines."

* * *

><p>"It's all on you, Sammy."<p>

"The gun to the back of your head says different, asshole."

"Aww… Inigo Montoya back for ass-kicking Round Three? You're one Hell of a masochist."

"It's over, Dean!"

* * *

><p>"Angel, hunh?"<p>

"My name is Castiel, and this is Hannah."

"Awesome - whoa, what the Hell -"

"You are injured."

"Relax, Cole. Angels, they can heal people."

"… Handy."

"Yeah - what, no, Cas, don't - conserve your grace."

"Sam, I do not wish to see you injured."

"I'm fine."

"Castiel said the same when he was unwell. He learned it from you, why do humans do that?"

"Uh. Cole?"

"Dude, I'm a Marine. I'm the last person you should ask."

* * *

><p>"Just water, thanks."<p>

"What the Hell are you doing here?"

"Never let a teammate drink alone."

"Oh, we're teammates, now, are we?"

"You're a one-armed man trying to get blackout-drunk. How were you planning on getting home?"

"… I can walk."

"And get hit by car, great plan, Winchester."

"Just go away, okay? I can't help you! I already have to keep an eye on Dean, figure out how to get the Mark of Cain off him, make sure he doesn't fucking lose it because he's remembering everything he's done, clean up the bunker, get the door replaced -"

"Breathe, Sam. The world ain't on your shoulders."

"It feels like it is."

* * *

><p>"The fuck are you even doing here?!"<p>

"Right now? Trying not to slit your throat, because it would make Sam sad, and his puppy dog eyes are more powerful than any WMDs I know of."

"Right. You two are _best friends _now, after you beat the shit out of him."

"You tried to kill him with a hammer and verbally eviscerated him for over eight hours, and he hasn't dumped your sorry ass yet."

"That's none of your business."

"Yeah, well, I like Sam, so I'm _making_ it my business."

"Go back to whatever Army recruiting ad spit you out."

"_Marines._ Friggin' Winchesters, blind, both of you."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Sammy -"<p>

"It's Sam, asshole."

"Was I fucking talking to you?"

"Guys, can you _not_ try to kill each other? For, like, ten minutes?"

"Sure, Sammy, just tell your guard dog to _sit._"

"Oh, I'm going to fucking -"

"_Try_ me, you little - _Jesus fuck!"_

"… Oh my God, you two…"

"I did mention I was a Marine? Who knows multiple forms of martial arts? Stop moving, dumbass, or you'll break your elbow _and_ your shoulder."

"Fucking -"

"Not that I would consider a hardship, mind."

"Cole, let him up."

"Eventually."

"_Cole._"

"Look, if he can't even notice how hard you tense up every time he calls you that -"

"The fuck are you talking about, you bitch?!"

"Now, there really ain't any call for that kind of gendered slur. Besides, you spent a day terrorising him by calling him 'Sammy', I think you should avoid using that name for the foreseeable future."

"… Jesus Christ, how the Hell did you end up in my life."

* * *

><p>"Did you pick another fight with Cole?"<p>

"No!"

"Dean, you did not have those bruises an hour ago."

"Why the fuck is he even here?"

"Because, in case you missed it, I only have one working arm. And, he's not a bad guy, Dean. He's just trying to figure out how to handle the supernatural, just like the rest of us."

"He's a fucking nuisance! This is _our_ home, where the Hell does he get off-"

"One, you murdered my father in front of me. Two, this is really therapeutic."

"_Jesus!"_

"Cole, come on."

"I leave you alone with him for more than three minutes, and you end up looking like someone killed your puppy in front of you."

"… Oh my God."

* * *

><p>"So this is it, hunh."<p>

"Your family's waiting, Cole. They need you."

"… I don't think they're the only ones."

"Dean and I will be fine. I promise."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Cole."

"Well, Dean'll be glad to see the back of me, anyway."

"Cole -"

"I'm not going to seek him out to kill him, don't worry. You're right, my family's more important. Keeping them safe, watching my son grow… And my country needs me a Hell of a lot more, too."

"Yeah."

"… Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"It ain't safe for you here, you get that, right?"

"Cole…"

"Come with me. My wife won't mind putting you up for awhile, and Danny latches on to new people like a leech."

"I can't. He's my brother."

"Figured you'd say that. Just… Take care, alright?"

"I'll be fine. Call me if anything happens."

"Same to you. Semper fi, Sam."

"Semper fi."

* * *

><p>AN: Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Please, let me know!


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